Building component

ABSTRACT

A building component comprises a cladding unit having an overhang portion and a securing portion. The outer face of the overhang portion serves as a barge/fascia board. The lower face of the overhang portion serves as a soffit. The cladding unit is thin walled and of sideways S-shape with three spaced upright parallel walls. Two walls namely one outer wall and the center wall are connected by a lower plate at their lower edges and form the overhang and two walls namely the center wall and the second outer wall are connected by an upper plate at their upper edges and form the securing portion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a Building Component for use in constructing aroof for a building primarily, but not only, a building constructedhaving a “double skin” outer wall(s) particularly, but not necessarily,having a cavity between said skins, the cavity normally being filled orsubstantially so with an insulation material.

While this invention is primarily concerned with the provision of gablewall overhangs, barge boards and soffits, it is also applicable to theprovision of front/rear wall overhangs, fascia boards and soffits.Heretofore, overhangs have been constructed of timber as have bargeboards and soffits which require regular painting maintenance with bothbarge boards and soffits being susceptible to rot and decay andrequiring periodic replacement. Separate barge boards and soffits havealso been provided of synthetic plastics material. While these arebeneficial in requiring little maintenance, they tend to degrade whenexposed to sunlight, due to ultra violet radiation and thermal stressesdue to temperature fluctuations. These existing building components aredisadvantageous, and an object of the present invention is to obviate ormitigate these disadvantages. Also, a requirement of buildingregulations currently in force is the capping or closing-off of the topof a cavity. This capping operation is normally achieved by fabricationon site using a board of natural or synthetic material in the same, apreceding or a succeeding operation including the gable wall overhang,the barge board and the soffit.

Accordingly, the present invention is a building component comprising acladding unit having an overhang portion and a securing portion, theouter face of the overhang portion serving as a barge/fascia board. Alower face of the overhang portion beneficially serves as a soffit.

Preferably, the cladding unit is thin walled and of sideways S-shapewith three spaced upright parallel walls, two walls of which one outerwall and the centre wall being connected by a lower plate at their loweredges and two walls, the centre wall and the second outer wall beingconnected by an upper plate at their upper edges. The one outer wall toserve as the barge/fascia board may be of greater length than the othertwo walls which may be of equal length or substantially so. The lowerplate beneficially serves as the soffit. The centre wall, upper plateand the second wall preferably serve as the securing portion to fit overthe wall.

The securing portion also includes a capping tile portion to extendacross the cavity. In a first aspect of the invention, the upper plateis of dimension to fit over the double skinned wall of the buildingwhereby to serve as an included capping tile portion. In a second aspectof the invention, the upper plate is of dimension to fit over the outerskin of the wall of the building and the capping tile portion is asecond lower plate extending out from the second wall away from thecentre wall. A fourth upright wall may be provided at the outer edge ofthe second lower plate to abut or be contiguous against the inner skinof the wall of the building. At the transition between the one outerwall and the first lower plate. a drip provision is beneficiallyprovided in the form of a channel or an elongate protuberance.

The cladding unit is desirably the same or substantially the same lengthas a building block and is for use with others of its kind in being laidside-by-side as a course on top of a wall. Alternatively, the claddingunit may be provided in desired multi-block lengths.

Preferably also, the cladding unit is made of any durable material, forexample cementitious material and desirably has a mat or fibrereinforcement of synthetic material.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way ofexample, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a part of a top and one gable of thebuilding having a roof support structure with a gable overhang, a bargeboard and a soffit constructed conventionally;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a part of a top and one gable of abuilding having a roof support structure with a course of cladding unitsaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a top and one gable of a building havinga roof support structure with a course of cladding units according to asecond embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are respectively a perspective view and a sideelevational view of a cladding unit according to a first embodiment:

FIGS. 5A and 5B are respectively a perspective view and a sideelevational view of a cladding unit according to a second embodiment:

FIGS. 6A and 68 are respectively, a perspective view and a sideelevational view of a cladding unit according to a second embodimentwith an extended overhang portion: and

FIGS. 7 to 11 are side elevational views of cladding units according toa simplified embodiment, FIGS. 8 and 11 showing an extended overhang.

Referring to the drawings, a building component comprises a claddingunit 8/8′ having a securing portion 10/10′ and an overhang portion 12.The securing portion also includes a capping tile portion to extendacross the cavity.

The cladding unit 8/8′ is thin walled and of sideways S-shape with threespaced upright parallel walls 14A, 10A, 10B, two walls of which oneouter 14A and the centre wall 10A being connected by a lower plate 14Bat their lower edges, and two walls of which, the centre wall 10A andthe second outer wall 10B being connected by an upper plate 11 at theirupper edges. The one outer wall 14A to serve as the barge/fascia boardis of greater height than the other two walls 10A, 10B which are ofequal length or substantially so. The lower plate 148 serves as thesoffit. The centre wall 1 OA, upper plate 11 and the second wall 10Bserve as the securing portion 10/10′ to fit over the wall 16/17 of abuilding.

In a first embodiment (as shown in FIGS. 4A,4B) of the invention, theupper plate 11 is of dimension to fit over a double skinned wall of thebuilding whereby to serve as an included capping tile portion to overlyand close off the cavity between both skins in the wall. In a secondembodiment (as shown in FIGS. 5A,5B) of the invention, the upper plate11 is of dimension to fit over the outer skin of a wall of the buildingand the capping tile portion is a second lower plate 9 extending outfrom the second wall 10B away from the centre wall 10A. A fourth uprightwall 26 is provided at the outer edge of the second lower plate 9 toabut or be contiguous against the inner skin of the wall of thebuilding. In both embodiments, at the transition between the one outerwall 14A and the first lower plate 148, a drip provision is provided inthe form of a channel 24 (FIGS. 4A to 9) or an elongate protuberance 24′(FIGS. 10 and 11).

Conveniently, the cladding unit 8/8′ is the same or substantially thesame length as a building block and is for use with others of its kindin being laid side-by-side as a course on top of a wall 16/17 with asecuring portion 10/10′ thereover and the overhang portion 12 projectingoutwardly beyond the wall 16/17.

The cladding unit 8/8′ is made of any durable material, for examplecementitious material, and can be coloured to suit a particular colourscheme for the rest of the normally painted or coloured parts of thebuilding, for example window frames or doors. Corner or end units 18 areprovided to terminate a course of cladding units 8/8′ as shown in FIG. 2& FIG. 3 laid on top of the gable wall 16 in the same manner asconventional bricks or blocks are laid using mortar, or formed from thesame cladding material. An apex 20 is formed by providing mitre sides tothe cladding units 8/8′ to be abutting at the vertex of the wall. Thetop surfaces of the cladding unit 8/8′ are flush with the top surfacesof a series of rafters 22 which together provide a roof supportstructure for a tiled or slated roof including battens andfelt/underlay.

The outer face of the overhang portion 12 when being moulded may beprovided with a wood grain or other ornamental/decorative effect.

A gable and front/rear overhang, when formed in the manner describedabove, is beneficial over the existing provision of such and requireslittle or no maintenance.

Although the invention has been described in connection with pitchedgable walls, the building component can equally be used with gable wallsof hipped or flat-roofed structures, and with front and rear walls ofpitched gable, hipped or flat-roofed structures. Also, the invention canbe used on walls constructed from two different types of material, forexample a timber inner skin and an outer brick or other type ofcladding. In this case, the insulation for the cavity may be secured tothe inner skin prior to the creation of the cavity by the erection ofthe outer skin. Further, although the invention has been described foruse with cavity walls, it is usable on solid walls formed, for exampleby constructing the wall from blocks on their ‘flat’ rather than on‘edge’. The invention should be construed accordingly.

In a first modification of both embodiments, a cladding unit is providedin a desired multi-block length equal to, and to locate between, aformed apex unit and a corner or end unit in each gable wall. Suchlength units may also be used in multiples along front or rear wallsbetween corner or end units.

In a second modification of both embodiments, the lower plate 14B is ofincreased width to provide an extended overhang portion as shown inFIGS. 6A, 6B, 8, 11.

In a first modification of the second embodiment, the inner end of thesecuring portion of the cladding unit is rebated to accommodate a heatinsulation batt, namely the securing portion 10/10′ has at its inner enda heat insulation batt secured against the outer side of wall 26 or thecapping tile portion.

In a further modification of the second embodiment, the fourth wall 26may be omitted.

In a simplified embodiment as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 no capping tileportion is provided.

The foregoing relates to a preferred exemplary embodiment of theinvention, it being understood that other variants and embodimentsthereof are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention, thelatter being defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A building component used with the wall of abuilding to cap the building wall, said building component comprising acladding unit having an overhang portion and a securing portion, anouter face of the overhang portion serving as a fascia board and a lowerface of the overhang portion serving as a soffit, the cladding unitbeing thin walled and cross-sectionally of substantially an S-shape withthree spaced upright parallel walls, two walls of which, one outer walland the center wall, being connected by a lower plate at their loweredges and two walls, the center wall and the second outer wall, beingconnected by an upper plate at their upper edges, the cladding unitbeing dimensioned with respect to the thickness of the building wallsuch that the center wall and the second outer wall, along with theupper plate, form the securing portion for the building wall, such thatwhen the securing portion is placed over the top of the building wallthe securing portion caps the building wall, with the center wall andthe second outer wall just fitting around the outer surfaces of thebuilding wall, and wherein the securing portion also serves as a cappingportion by extending across a cavity in the wall.
 2. A buildingcomponent according to claim 1, wherein the building wall is doubleskinned, and the upper plate is dimensioned to just fit over thedoubled-skinned wall.
 3. A building component which forms a capping unitwhich caps a wall of a building, said building component comprising acladding unit having an overhang portion and a securing portion, anouter face of the overhang portion serving as a fascia board and a lowerface of the overhang portion serving as a soffit, the cladding unitbeing thin walled and cross-sectionally of substantially an S-shape withthree spaced upright parallel walls, two walls of which, one outer walland the center wall, being connected by a lower plate at their loweredges and two walls, the center wall and the second outer wall, beingconnected by an upper plate at their upper edges, wherein the centerwall, the upper plate and the second outer wall serves as the securingportion, and fits over the wall of a building, and wherein the securingportion also serves as a capping portion by extending across a cavity inthe wall, and wherein the upper plate is dimensioned to fit over anouter skin of the wall of a building, and the capping portion is asecond lower plate extending out from the second outer wall away fromthe center wall.
 4. A building component according to claim 3, wherein afourth upright wall is provided at an outer edge of the second lowerplate to abut against an inner skin of the wall of a building.
 5. Incombination with a building wall, a building component used as a cappingunit to cap the building wall, said building component comprising acladding unit having an overhang portion and a securing portion, anouter face of the overhang portion serving as a fascia board and a lowerface of the overhang portion serving as a soffit, the cladding unitbeing thin walled and cross-sectionally of substantially an S-shape withthree spaced upright parallel walls, two walls of which, one outer walland the center wall, being connected by a lower plate at their loweredges and two walls, the center wall and the second outer wall, beingconnected by an upper plate at their upper edges to form the securingportion, the securing portion being dimensioned with respect to thebuilding wall such that when placed over the top of the building wallthe securing section forms a cap for the building wall.
 6. A buildingcomponent adapted for use as a capping unit to cap a building wallhaving a particular thickness, said building component comprising acladding unit having an overhang portion and a securing portion, anouter face of the overhang portion serving as a fascia board and a lowerface of the overhang portion serving as a soffit, the cladding unitbeing thin walled and cross-sectionally of substantially an S-shape withthree spaced upright parallel walls, two walls of which, one outer walland the center wall, being connected by a lower plate at their loweredges and two walls, the center wall and the second outer wall, beingconnected by an upper plate at their upper edges, the cladding unitbeing dimensioned with respect to the thickness of the building wallsuch that the center wall and the second outer wall, along with theupper plate, form the securing portion for the building wall, such thatwhen the securing portion is placed over the top of the building wallthe securing portion caps the building wall, with the center wall andthe second outer wall just fitting around the outer surfaces of thebuilding wall, and wherein, at a transition between said one outer walland the lower plate, a drip provision is provided in the form of anelongate protuberance.
 7. A building component according to claim 6,wherein said one outer wall serves as the fascia board, and is ofgreater length than the other two walls, which other two walls are ofsubstantially equal length.
 8. A building component according to claim6, wherein the lower plate serves as a soffit.
 9. A building componentaccording to claim 7, wherein the lower plate serves as a soffit.
 10. Abuilding component according to claim 6, wherein the wall of thebuilding is made from blocks, and the cladding unit is substantially thesame length as one of said blocks, and said building component is usedwith others of its kind by being laid side-by-side as a course on top ofthe wall.
 11. A building component according to claim 7, wherein thewall of the building is made from blocks, and the cladding unit issubstantially the same length as one of said blocks, and said buildingcomponent is used with others of its kind by being laid side-by-side asa course on top of the wall.
 12. A building component according to claim8, wherein the wall of the building is made from blocks, and thecladding unit is substantially the same length as one of said blocks,and said building component is used with others of its kind by beinglaid side-by-side as a course on top of the wall.
 13. A buildingcomponent according to claim 6, wherein the wall of the building is madefrom blocks, and the cladding unit is provided in multi-block lengths.14. A building component according to claim 7, wherein the wall of thebuilding is made from blocks, and the cladding unit is provided inmulti-block lengths.
 15. A building component according to claim 8,wherein the wall of the building is made from blocks, and the claddingunit is provided in multi-block lengths.
 16. A building componentaccording to claim 6, wherein the cladding unit is made of a durablematerial.
 17. A building component according to claim 16, wherein saiddurable material includes a synthetic material with fibers embeddedtherein.